Pakamac

BJ what a horrible thought

Hi Robin can you tell us about your second wife

Hi Robin sorry to hear that but wow what a lady better than winning the lottery lucky lucky man

Elizabeth, I can well imagine that cold wet plastic on your knees when you were wearing short pants wouldn't have been too pleasant, but I can assure Pete that in that respect nylon wasn't much of an improvement! Also I found that when I wore a knee-length raincoat over short pants, I always imagined people who saw me were wondering if I was wearing anything underneath!

I think I also know that 'new plastic' smell. When i was at high school, most of us carried our books in cases (now called 'airline bags' or 'sports bags') which were made of rubber or maybe PVC and when new, as most of these bags were at the start of a school year, the smell was unique, unmistakable for anything else.

Hi Robin I had a AustinA55 that had plastic seat covers never had a wife that would wear a plastic mac just moan and nag

Sadly, like "Dolly" - DLL 505G - my first wife is no longer with us. Within 2 weeks of first meeting her (and knowing that she was "the one" for me), I told her that I had a fetish for plastic macs. I just felt I had to tell her. Narrow public views about such matters at the time meant that the most likely reaction would have been negative.

Instead, she reacted like an excited child that had discovered a new toy at Christmas. I could not easily interpret her response - it was the total opposite of my expectation and I remember feeling quite nervous. She couldn't wait to observe my reactions to seeing her wearing a plastic mac. On the first rainy Saturday following my disclosure, we went to Woolworths in Oxford Street where she insisted on trying on at least half a dozen different plastic macs, before selecting a long, shiny see-through turquoise plastic mac.

I remember her gaily walking to the counter, wearing the new plastic mac, buttoned to the neck and announcing that she wished to buy it. The young female shop assistant asked my wife to turn round so she could see the label and the price. The shop assistant actually read the price by looking at the Winfield label through the virtually transparent plastic. My wife was quite content to leave the shop with the label still in place - hanging inside the mac from the coat hook by a length of white cotton thread - thereby demonstrating that she was wearing a brand new Woolworths plastic mackintosh.

The Winfield plastic mac labels at the time contained guidance about not laying the raincoat on varnished surfaces or attempting to iron them.

Hi Robin what a wonderful lady your wife was is she still with us I would loved to have met her i can only dream of a lady like her.

I should have additionally mentioned our Austin 1100 - lovingly nicknamed "Dolly" by my wife - which we bought second hand in 1971. The previous owner had kept the heavy duty transparent plastic fitted seat covers that adorned the majority of new BMC cars in those days. A rainy day outing in "Dolly" was a treat. Even on a short journey, the smell of plastic emitted from the combination of the seat covers and my wife's plastic mac was intense. This incredible sensation was further enhanced by the squeaking and sticking noise made by my wife's plastic mac coming into and out of contact with the plastic seat cover. It was pretty hard to concentrate on the driving at times, so we tended not to travel very far.

My most recent post was entered on the 2nd July 2014. As the years have gone by, I have enjoyed wearing plastic Pakamacs in the rain and have been lucky enough to have two successive wives that have willingly participated in my interests. My first wife was very outgoing - almost too much for me at times. She happily wore all sorts of plastic rainwear outfits in public. During a short trip to Innsbruck in 1970, she bought a very thin and rustly see through charcoal grey plastic mac with matching rain hood. It gave off the most incredibly strong plastic smell which I found highly attractive. She just loved wearing it on every rainy day opportunity.

Hi Robin so lets hear your tales then

I agree Robin, let's embrace the Pakamac and the people who wear them, in this tribute site. I felt a bit left out of your list though, unless maybe I'm the Martian or banana.

Hi Liz L love you as well

My partner Pete lived in the UK (Kent) up to age 10 when the family emigrated to Australia in the mid-sixties, and he remembers pitch black or battleship grey plastic macs which were probably Pakamac, and matching sou-westers. He says he hated them, especially the wet plastic on his knees when he was wearing shorts, and didn't think they were much chop quality wise, because he remembers his Mum having to buy him a new one every new school term.

His sisters had brighter color macs, he recalls a bright red one his older sister had when she was about 13, with a rainhat and a matching umbrella, and although he'd never have worn a mac that bright he did think it was unfair that as a boy he didn't have more choice of colors. In Australia he wore nylon, today he wears a short jacket, nylon in summer and something thicker and heavier in winter, and generally uses an umbrella - like most Aussies do. Raincoats have never been a universal here.

Straight after reading Agness telling Frank to 'grow up' I heard on the news that Joan Rivers, who made a trademark of the phrase, had died. I can only fantasise what kind of gibbering mess Joan R would have made of a heckler such as Frank.

Three cheers for Alan. Whilst it is entirely possible that any contributor may be a man, a woman, a gay or a lesbian, a Martian or a banana, Alan's observations are entirely reasonable. Surely this space is for participants who would like to share their views and experiences on Pakamacs?

Its been a while since l visited this site because l got the impression it had become a place for certain people to constantly bicker amongst each other.
Let me just say that when l found this site a few years ago l was so thrilled that it gave people like me to chat to like minded people devoted to Plastic Pakamacs.

l am sure that any genuine Plastic mac & Pakamac lovers are contented to just use this site to chat freely and openly about their shared love of plastic rainwear, I am not really interested if they use a false name for protection or what sex they are just as long as the mutual subject is plastic rainwear and Pakamacs. So l suggest we treasure this site and not abuse it.

Hi Janice it seems we have a lot in common my Dad also had a grey plastic mac but it would have to be thunder rain for him to wear it you can contact me via Jane if you wish and Frank Barnard grow up.

Hi my hat is still waiting to be eaten

Hi Agnes,
I'm afraid plastic macs worn by ordinary people for the rain have become an endangered species thanks to smears from the press, cheap 'jokes' from comedians, and the almost universal car use.

Hi Agness I was in Blackpool about the same time my sister and myself had pink plastic macs Mum a white one most people had one in the rain how times have changed

Skegness was like that in the 70s, shops full of plastic macs and nylon macs.

Hi were have all the plastic macs gone when I was taken on holiday to Blackpool with my family in the late fifties the place was full of plastic macs

Hi please no more emails off men only ladies who have a interest for plastic macs floral or transparent thank you .

Hi Rob thats a gem

I'm not sure there is much more we can add Gareth other than to say the weather in this country is so unpredictable we are still drying out!

Hi Rob can you ask Beth to post some something all the other ladies seem to have vanished into thin air

Hi Scotty good luck with that.

Hi Elizabeth Anne, don't worry the grey comes to us all..lol. I think it would add to the classic look a rainbonnet brings with your mac. I bet you look lovely out in your mac. I've been trying to coax my new girlfriend to try one for me when it rains, however no success yet!

Hi Rob great to have you back Hope Beth is as well

Hi Gareth I did stop reading this page sometime ago but having just got back from holiday I thought it would be interesting to see what has been added recently. Sorry I didn't see your post in July.

Hi BJ, I suppose it does no harm for me to tell you I'm 5 foot 6, so slightly taller than average, a size 12, and I have shoulder-length hair that I usually put in a ponytail. My hair was jet black when I was younger but now, alas, there's more than a few hints of grey.

Hope that helps.